Leafsnap

Our friends have helped us identify the tree across the road – the one that was dropping the beautiful flowers. It’s a tulip tree.

Our friend Iris was visiting with her friend Rachel (they were soon followed by Iris’s cat that doesn’t have a name and is addressed as kitty or cat) and Iris told us about a phone app called Leafsnap.

It’s a free app that was developed by researchers from Columbia University, the University of Maryland and the Smithsonian Institution. It uses visual recognition software to help identify tree species. I tested it out yesterday.

I picked a leaf and snapped a shot.

It didn’t work. Then I remembered Iris saying that the leaf has to be placed on a white background. I snapped it again at home.

This time it worked! The number one suggestion was tulip tree.

A further tap on the phone revealed more photos including ones of the flower.

If this were not confirmation enough, around the time that I was snapping shots of the leaf Suzanne across the road emailed to say that the mystery tree is a tulip tree.

Dan and I both have other trees in mind that we plan to identify using Leafsnap. It is a fun app and the latest reason as to why I love my iPhone.